Tuesday, January 20, 2015

When the Ax Falls

Harris County Criminal Justice Center regulars were shocked over the past several days as the District Attorney's Office conducted a mass firing of prosecutors and other personnel.  The Office firing so many employees at one time hasn't been seen since . . . well, since the incoming Lykos Administration decided to fire me and several other prosecutors, investigators and secretaries at the end of 2008.

As I can attest, getting fired isn't much fun.  In addition to being embarrassing, it also fills your life with a level of uncertainty that you weren't expecting to address at this stage of the game.  (I'm not going to post the name of anyone who got fired here, nor will I publish the names in the comments.)

Some of those who lost their jobs were already at the Office when I started back in 1999.  Others started while I was still there and some started after I was gone.  I think I knew almost all of them.

And for the life of me, I'm not real sure why they were fired.  Especially not all at once.  I agree with Mark Bennett that there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

I realize that there may be some things I'm not privy to.  I've been gone for over six years now, after all.  The prosecutors I knew that lost their jobs didn't seem to deserve it from what I saw during my time as a prosecutor or as a defense attorney.  I believe one of them was arguably the best trial lawyer they had -- and an even better Chief.

It makes me sad.

So, here are a few words of advice from someone who has been there:

1.  The idea of life after HCDA is scary, but it isn't as hard as you think.

2.  Remember that everything happens for a reason.

3.  If you want to be a defense attorney, ask for help from those of us in the Defense Bar.  The Defense Bar in Harris County is not only amazing inside the courtroom -- they are even more amazing outside.  You will be overwhelmed at the kindness and generosity of time they will provide -- even that Mark Bennett guy that everybody gets so pissed off at.

4.  Get an accountant if you are going to hang out a shingle.

5.  Call me if you need anything.

6.  This, too, shall pass.

Hang in there, guys.  It isn't nearly as bad as you think.



51 comments:

Just Sayin' said...

Murray Newman is a class act.
Everything does happen for a reason.
AND remember this Devon: what goes around comes around........

BTW, who is left at the HCDAO to try the non-whale big gamers? Who are the mentors for the young potential ADA Rock Stars? Looks to me that the prosecutorial cupboard is bare is this regard. The next generation of David Temple killers are going to get sweet pleas or walk.

2016 needs a genuine prosecutor in "the corner office" on the 6th floor.....Lykos proved zero experience doesn't cut it and Devon continues to prove that sympathy for the devil is best left to the Rolling Stones.
When politics usurps justice, when ADAs try to stay under the radar and dodge trials, when Blakedmore/Hotze/Lowry are figurative bedmates of the boss.......deceit and cowardliness will undermine our DA's office.

Just Sayin'

Anonymous said...

Good post, Murray. Things to remember: many asked Mike to run to restore the morality. Things that have happened since:

1. Still afraid to make decisions. Man, they could hang under the radar and Lykos would do nothing. No policy changes. They still wont make decisions. If they do make them, they are so bad that the dockets are clogged. If I have to hear one more time, no 12.44a. It makes me sick.

2. Really bad people in charge. Good Lord, what was Mike thinking when he promoted the "mean girls"? All of these women got jumped. But, now they are in charge? Who is thinking in this administratration?

3. Does Devon have a clue that the defense bar refers to her upper administration as "the vagocracry"? I would be embarrassed if I was DA.

4. Getting people within your organization to spy and snitch on each other is wrong. Y'all have stooped to the level of Lykos. "Let's just be a bully". I guess the next we are going to hear is "we won, so get over it".

5. The whole idea of asking Mike to run was to restore the confidence in Johnny's office. Frankly, I think Johnny would be very dissappointed in what you have done.

6. Y'all will never restore Johnny's office to what it was. Shame.

Anonymous said...

Good post, Murray. Things to remember: many asked Mike to run to restore the morality. Things that have happened since:

1. Still afraid to make decisions. Man, they could hang under the radar and Lykos would do nothing. No policy changes. They still wont make decisions. If they do make them, they are so bad that the dockets are clogged. If I have to hear one more time, no 12.44a. It makes me sick.

2. Really bad people in charge. Good Lord, what was Mike thinking when he promoted the "mean girls"? All of these women got jumped. But, now they are in charge? Who is thinking in this administratration?

3. Does Devon have a clue that the defense bar refers to her upper administration as "the vagocracry"? I would be embarrassed if I was DA.

4. Getting people within your organization to spy and snitch on each other is wrong. Y'all have stooped to the level of Lykos. "Let's just be a bully". I guess the next we are going to hear is "we won, so get over it".

5. The whole idea of asking Mike to run was to restore the confidence in Johnny's office. Frankly, I think Johnny would be very dissappointed in what you have done.

6. Y'all will never restore Johnny's office to what it was. Shame.

Anonymous said...

The rumor mill suggests that most of those let go were tied to specific misconduct in one of the several office scandals. At least a couple were caught sending emails of a highly sensitive nature and/or keeping Ogg up to date in hopes of payback should she have won. If some of the under performing ADA's were cut loose in a "while we're at it" approach, so be it.

For what it's worth, I honestly believe had Ogg won, the purges would be even more pronounced given some of the speeches she made. Those who worked with her at the city or in Crime Stoppers can fill in the details but she could be quite the tyrant and show an amazing lack of restraint as a manager. And the capper was, look who she aligned herself with in order to win, a former yellow journalist as well as Lykos and the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight being the best known.

Anonymous said...

It was certainly awkward coming in Tuesday and getting Devon's e-mail about the annual review that her staff did - Just like when Johnny was there. She did not mention names, but it was obvious to anyone who has been around for a while.

This may lead to a second big personnel shift in as many months. The general feeling is "keep your head down & stay out of the spotlight." Not quite what you would expect from a bunch that loves a good fight and relishes a good argumnet.

This, too, shall pass.. But it certainly was an unexpected move by the boss. Came out if left field.. Like her awkward email that assured the rest that the ax had fallen and no we are all safe.... FOR NOW

Just Sayin' said...

Anon 5:11,

I have never understood the credibility of the all to common argument whereby one's bad behavior should be excused simply because another individual's behavior was also bad.
"The Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight", Big Jolly, Kim Ogg, ad nausea are not the sitting elected DA……Mike Anderson's coattails ushered in Devon Anderson to that position.
It is now time to judge Devon's performance on it's merit, grieving widow status notwithstanding.

Murray's great sense of honor and decency has, thus far, shielded Devon from the tough questions as to what back room deals brought her to the head of the table. The Machiavellian process continues and is very disturbing.

JustSayi'

ADAs for integrity said...

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
--Abe Lincoln

Chuckster, Patsy and Devilon all showed their asses on old Abe's character test.

Time to look for leadership with Lincoln's character………Belinda, Kelly, Murray somebody?






Anonymous said...

You know, I'm not sure why the defense bar has nicknamed the current administration a "vagocracy." It's not like they called each of the prior administrations a " dickocracy" or a "cockracy," or a "sausage-ocracy." The reality is that every person who participates in such name calling is working from a place of deep sexism and misogyny. Jesus ice skating Christ on a cracker, people. Judge the administration all you like. Just do it on the merits instead of genitalia. If that's too hard for you, then maybe check your privilege.

jeremy said...

if I may:

7. Don't let your feelings consume you. If you do that, you'll be nothing but bitter and miserable.

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:22, Really? Look, many of us began a long career at the office under Johnny and admire the heck out of him. Johnny has been gone 15 years! The nature of prosecution has changed dramatically in the 21st century as has the nature of management. The office is almost 35% larger now than in 2000. Can you really speculate on what Johnny would do in 2015?

Johnny fired people prior to the beginning of each new term. The phrase was "your contract is not being renewed". It was still firing. Some years there were a whole bunch, Others not so much. Those firings always happened right before the holidays. "Merry Christmas!", your fired.

The DA in recent memory who fired the fewest people was Chuck. We all remember how that worked out.

When our friends and colleagues get the ax we do not like it. I doubt Devon liked doing it as well. She was elected to make decisions and she does, which is more than you can say about the Troll.

I agree, the office will never be the way it was under Holmes. That does not mean that it is Devon's fault.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:14,
REALLY?
There is a change at the DA's office alright. However, the difference between JBH and Devon goes waaaaay beyond a change in time.
Seeking justice has changed to seeking political favor.
Impartiality has changed to cronyism.
Standing up for the courage of one's convictions has changed to staying under the radar.
Mentoring has changed to bullying.
Trying tough cases because it was the right thing to do has changed to pleas because it is the safe thing to do.
Camaraderie has changed to every weasel for itself.

Sure Johnny worked in a different time with different methods. But Johnny was a man of high character whose motto was to do the RIGHT thing simply because it was the right thing to do.

If I could change one thing about the legacy of Johnny Holmes it would be to correct his failure to transition leadership. Chuck Rosenthal, Patsy Lykos and Devon Anderson were not up to task......Mike's tenure was tragically too short for us to ever know.

We can no longer accept unqualified leadership who make excuses; we need a leader who has demonstrated excellence in the courtroom and is a team player.
Let's start the discussion on how to put excellence back at the HCDAO so we can help victims instead of being victims ourselves.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:45,

Belinda is too loyal to Mike to challenge Devon.
Imagine if she blinks and sees how the trees make up the forest.

Kelly is making too much money in Hollywood.
Imagine if her show winds down before the filing date.

Murray puts his young family first.
Imagine if we could put his kids in a time machine. No way, Murray's out!

Anonymous said...

Like in Ferguson, MO, maybe all the Judgers should make sure they know the facts before they post nasty comments about Devon's motivations for asking some folks to leave.
I suspect that their personnel files contain significant documentation of conduct that was inappropriate. Unlike Lykos, who fired people willy-nilly, Devon has likely documented the reasons for her decisions.

Lee said...

Plenty more lawyers where those came from....every May and December.

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:23,

Please clarify the perception that there are no longer veteran prosecutors at the office who can, with parity, go toe to toe with the likes of Dick DeGuerin, Rusty Hardin, Dan Cogdale, Mac Secrist, Chip Lewis, et al.
The David Temple fiasco is a prime example. Not only is the DA's bumbling buffoonery in the never-ending hearing for a new trial an embarrassment to the entire office; more importantly, what If Temple gets a new trial--which ADA is ready to tee it up with DeGuerin? Devon Anderson? I think not.
The office has some old timers going through the motions waiting to hit that magic number to retire. Mike said he would restore integrity and hire quality experienced trial lawyers if elected. Well I don't see any improvement in that regard. In fact, the office has less QUALITY veteran trial lawyers to teach the baby prosecutors and to defend our county than when the horrific Pat Lykos crashed the office. What happened to the campaign promises? It is so much easier to destroy than to build. Devon and Co. appear to be content with a raft to fight an aircraft carrier.

Anybody home? Darwin called said...

Anon 2:26,

I guess you'd be good with medical interns taking care of your health without them having further training and supervision by highly qualified and experienced veteran M.D. supervisors in the field? LOL
Why do the Devonites shun common sense at all costs?

Anonymous said...

So much to say:

Anon 8:45 and Anon 9:01. None of those folks could win in the primary. The Lowry Hotze Polland slates rule the day. NOBODY has ever won without at least one of them. Kelly could not win having one of them in 2008. I question whether even Johnny could win a primary in this political climate.

Anon 10:17, time to put up or shut up. Name some names. Who would you hire in your infinite wisdom? If they are former DA's how many if any would come back? Who besides Siegler was truly a rockstar anyway? By the way the only one who sounds like they want to be a victim in this thread is you. Finally the DA is an elected official and as such is at some level a politician. If you think Holmes never did anything political, you are dreaming. Ask him about the time he tried the teacher for delivering weed to a student and asked the jury to give him life in prison. The jury gave probation,

Anon 8:37 did it ever occur to you that the Judge is letting everything in to put this thing to rest once and for all? Maybe then Belinda Temple's family can finally get some closure.

Anybody home?, I did not take what 2:26 the way you did. Surely you are not putting the recently fired in the category of rockstar lawyer?

Anon 11:25, i been around since the 80"s, I do not remember Maria, Karen or Belinda being jumped. You might check your facts.

Just trying to keep the conversation lively.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:42 a/k/a: Just trying to keep the conversation lively,

Since Murray wouldn't print the list of unqualified female "promotees" at the office anyway; I won't challenge him here. Besides, we all know who they are without a blog publication.
Let me be crystal clear that Belinda Hill is not one of those opportunistic slugs.......she is and always has been a class act who not only meritoriously earned every promotion she received she also deserves to be the head enchilada at the office.

2016 will be a lot different than 2008 and I am not alone in believing Kelly could crush the weak opposition with or without the slates.
1. The Blakemores' cheesy ads are no competition for the LA media machine Kelly is hooked in with. 2. Her hit TV show will be syndicated.
3. Who could touch her name recognition? I'll bet a race with her in it would get national coverage! I'd love to see those debates.
4. Who could touch her prosecutorial record?
5. The way Kelly exonerated Anthony Graves dispels the Lykos/Leitner/DeGuerin slur that implied "justice at all costs" was synonymous with "winning at all costs".
6. The HCDAO needs a real "Rock Star" to jump start a resurgence of excellence at the office. Who's a better "Rock Star" than Kelly?

As for David Temple being afforded this never ending Kangaroo fiasco so, "Maybe then Belinda Temple's family can get some closure?" What a horrible precedent that sets for all the other murder victim families in Harris County whose killers hire big name criminal defense attorneys! Are you f'ing serious! Why not just give him a new trial and then convict him again for real airtight closure? But wait! Who at the office would dare try it? Crickets chirping.....

As for who ought to be hired as ADA mentors and trial lawyers......why not ask Devon who Mike promised to re-hire should he win. But that's just politics, right?

Just trying to keep the conversation real.



Anonymous said...

Anon 10:40 I am asking you oh wise one! Who would you hire. Name names or shut the F up.

Anonymous said...

Dear Angry Little Piss Ant @ 9:41,

Well I surely would avoid your wee buddy Lee's suggestion @ 2:26, "Anonymous Lee said...
Plenty more lawyers where those came from....every May and December."
Maybe his/her point was that if the office hired lawyers who just got licensed it would make the current inexperience less glaring in comparison. LOL!

So if I was DA you want to know what my team of prosecutors would look like?
The employment template would be merit based and all Union cards would be shredded. Any dead wood senior ADAs currently employed primarily due to length of service would be summarily terminated.
Win/loss records would not be black and white criteria for employment retention/promotions. Rather, the degree of difficulty, ethical conduct, courtroom prowess/preparation and good judgement would be determinative in retention and promotion decisions.
It is easy to portend great trial ability based on winning the slam dunks. However, the great prosecutors are the ones who dare risk, albeit wisely, and sometimes come up short; but accept the challenge to pursue justice against odds shirked by others.
This would be my benchmark.

You want specifics, Just to name a few:
Kelly Blackburn, Mike Trent, Luci Davidson, Paul Doyle, Kevin Petroff, Warren Diepraam, Mia Magness, Joe Bailey, Stephen St. Marten, Rob Freyer, Wes Rucker, Ted Wilson, Kelly Siegler, Joe Vinas, Spence Graham, Lester Blizzard, Toby Shook (since you are taking all the women from Dallas County), Troy Cotton, Phil Grant, Todd Keagle
If Dick Bax will take a pay cut I am sure some other former DA’s would come back to right the ship… You have to make an offer to know and that hasn’t happened.

Keeping it real, Bubba.

Anonymous said...

Addendum to my last comment @ 4:24,

AND of course our very own Murray Newman should be offered a Bureau Chief position…..my sincerest apologies for this glaring oversight.

Anonymous said...

Hey Bubba 4:24, you are obviously in the know with the current staffing at the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Lester has been back for almost two years.

Duh

Anonymous said...

Hey Duh is that all you got? Lester being a #2 is a total waste and we both know it........pack your purse in '16 sweet pea.

Anonymous said...

I want to clarify an earlier statement that someone who doesn't know anything about the Holmes and Rosenthal administrations said: that "Rosenthal never fired anyone and look how that worked out." That's not true at all. I know because I worked under both administrations and Rosenthal fired a lot of low hanging fruit shortly after he came into office. That's the norm with new DAs, no matter the jurisdiction. He also wasn't afraid of firing people in subsequent years. When I was there, Holmes let very few people go. The people Rosenthal let go needed to go. And you know what? He also kindly and gently ushered out a few people who were really nice and trying hard, but just not cutting it. He told them they had three to six months to find a new job and he kept them on the payroll as an act of mercy and grace. They were good people who just weren't a good fit for that office. He also allowed prosecutors who had no desire to promote to higher felony positions, but were excellent attorneys in lower positions, to remain in them as long as they wanted. In other words, he was flexible.

Let it be known, I thought Rosenthal was an idiot. But he wasn't 100% a bad DA. I and many others who worked for him liked our jobs very much when we worked there. His saving grace was that he had very capable people in high positions who could manage the office very well without him. The two good things about Rosenthal are 1) he wasn't afraid to fire people or come up with new positions for people who were good at something and 2) he went to County Commissioner's Court on a regular basis to seek raises for us. He was the first DA to do empirical research on the fact that Harris County has far fewer ADAs than any other big city DA's Office in the nation and that they should be compensated for the amount of work they do. Under his administration, I got a substantial pay raise every year. He also was excellent at paying for and expanding training and CLE (in-house and away) for his prosecutors. I recently met someone who said the Lykos administration was terrible about training and prosecutors were asking her, a non-lawyer, how to get things into evidence! Our training was superb under both Holmes and Rosenthal.

I am no longer in the criminal courthouse for work, so I don't know how Devon is doing. But as I told Rosenthal, when I left the office, if you are loyal and support your employees, they will go the mile for you. When you have an employer who goes to bat for you, who encourages you, who rewards you for a good job, who cuts you some slack when you need it, who knows when you're tired and moves you to a slower division for a respite, you will work your hardest and do your best. I love my new job because I have an employer who does all of these things for me. Devon, if you want to engender hard work, justice, and loyalty among your employees, you need to back them up. If you don't, they will turn on you in the next election.

Anonymous said...

Anon 7:28,

Outstanding perspective…………respect is everything in leadership.

Anonymous said...

Hey "sweet pee" aka 9:18 thanks for offering to carry my bags, but unlike you I can carry my own.

Hey if you are so miserable quit, although based on your musings I doubt that you work at HCDAO.

As for posting your list of rehires, I give you credit for having the stones to post it. Maybe you should run in 16 and see how many come work for you.

Anonymous said...

Really "Keeping it real, Bubba." ?? Your plan is to rehire a bunch of people, most of whom willingly left, to take a pay cut and come back to be DAs?

Sounds really workable.

Anonymous said...

The "glaring oversight" was not putting John Jocher and Mark Donnelly at the top of your list

Anon 4:46 said...

"Anonymous said...
The "glaring oversight" was not putting John Jocher and Mark Donnelly at the top of your list

January 28, 2015 at 7:03 PM"

Agree that they, and others belong on the list…..it was not intended to be all inclusive, merely representative. The point was to emphasize that lateral moves expanding the girls club to Dallas was unmitigated bullshit.

Anonymous said...

Anon 7:28,

"…His (Rosenthal's) saving grace was that he had very capable people in high positions who could manage the office very well without him…"

You are spot on AND therein lies the crucial difference between Devon "WTF am I doing" Anderson and Charles "the Chuckster" Rosenthal.

TZ

Anonymous said...

And Craig Feazel would be right behind those 2 ahead of everyone else on your list

All 3 are happily working as Asst United States attorneys in Houston

Anonymous said...

and Andrew Leuchtmann - another Federal Prosecutor

Anonymous said...

Is the Kelly / Temple hearing still going on? Does anyone have any updates?

Anonymous said...

A lot of good investigators have left too. Why does everyone seem to forget about them? That is a huge talent loss as well.

Good luck to all of those who left, you all will do fine.

Anonymous said...

Hey, why not hire some of the ADA's who are now judges?

Why not have a séance and hire some dead former ADA's?

If you want perfection hire Jesus.

Quit whining.

Just Saytin' said...

Anon 9:32,

You personify the old adage, "The king is dead, long live the king."
Apparently you don't remember a guy named Mike Anderson and his campaign promises/message.

Mike's mantra was to restore integrity and hire capable experienced ADA leadership to manage the office with him. Besides bringing in Belinda Hill there has been very marginal follow through in this regard. A lot of time has passed since those words were spoken, and lost opportunities as well.

It is more frustration than whining. The office is in worse shape than when Pat Lykos crashed it. We are moving backward instead of forward. No one expected the Lykos disaster to be fixed overnight but it was even more unexpected for the Anderson transition "team" to totally disregard the promised vision or in the alternative to be so inept in carrying out the mission.
Maybe prayers to Jesus Christ are all we have left……may God help us!

Just Sayin'

Anonymous said...

Damn this office needs and misses Kelly Siegler.

No bullshit, tell it like it is, back it up and follow through. How refreshing.

I hope the rumors of her running for DA again are true. It's hers if she wants it.

Anonymous said...

Anon. 12:32 if you honestly believe the office is worse now then when Lykos ruled, your last name is Leitner, Greenwood or Bridgwater.

Just Sayin' said...

"Anonymous said...
Anon. 12:32 if you honestly believe the office is worse now then when Lykos ruled, your last name is Leitner, Greenwood or Bridgwater."

Interesting argument you submit. Rather than pointing out with specificity "the great positive accomplishments you and the Girls' Club" allude to; you instead reference a bunch of deadbeats from the past suggesting their bad deeds absolve you of yours.

An extrapolation of your "logic" will exonerate the next Harris County Capital Murder defendant who simply states Usama Bin Laden was really really bad.

Give me a break…….new leadership can't come soon enough.

Just Sayin'

Anonymous said...

Just Sayin said "The office is in worse shape than when Pat Lykos crashed it. We are moving backward instead of forward."

Anon 1:45 in response to that idiotic assertion said, "if you honestly believe the office is worse now then when Lykos ruled, your last name is Leitner, Greenwood or Bridgwater."

Anon 1:45 apparently struck a nerve because in response Just Sayin "deflects" and tries to peddle the remark as flawed logic rather than take it as a direct response to his earlier assertion.

Clearly Just Sayin is a brilliant trial lawyer.

Just Sayin' said...

Anon 9:10,

1. If the assertion that the only people who think the HCDAO is worse off today than it was under the Lykos administration are Leitner, Greenwood and Bridgwater then the logical extension would be that everyone else must, therefore, believe that the HCDAO is in fact better off today under Devon Anderson.
Please explain with supportive evidence how you arrived at this odd conclusion and how it is responsive to the rest of my comments copied herein below rather than deflective.

2. "Mike's mantra was to restore integrity and hire capable experienced ADA leadership to manage the office with him. Besides bringing in Belinda Hill there has been very marginal follow through in this regard. A lot of time has passed since those words were spoken, and lost opportunities as well."
Please, with specificity discredit this assertion.

3. "No one expected the Lykos disaster to be fixed overnight but it was even more unexpected for the Anderson transition "team" to totally disregard the promised vision or in the alternative to be so inept in carrying out the mission."
Please explain exactly what Team Anderson has done to right the sinking ship?

Name the current ADA Rock Stars.
Explain why promotions are still based on trial stats instead of on work ethic and true ability. Explain why mentoring has not replaced bullying. Explain why the Bureau and Division Chiefs are picked with the same cavalier arbitrary attitude as they were under Lykos.
Or choose your own benchmark of excellence abandoned that has been restored by the Girls' Club…….

Just Sayin'

Anonymous said...

Just Sayin' are you insecure in your manhood or a misogynist? Why all this reference to the "girls club?"

If you are saying the naming of the new head of the trial bureau was arbitrary, rather than a well thought out move, you are more misguided than I believed possible.

Current rock stars, hmm?

Long, Emmons, Weltin, Exley (both of them, Dozier, Penneguy, Antu, Calligan come to mind.


It is obvious that you will never be satisfied with DA's office until Johnny comes riding in on a white horse and restores the office to some fairy tale vision you have. It was never perfect, nor will it ever be.

Just Sayin' said...

Dearest Girls' Club charter member @ 9:22,

Length of service a/k/a "seniority rules" does not in and of itself translate into Rock Stardom--government/union philosophical protestations notwithstanding.

Jihadists, Nazis and the Black Panthers are no more a global reflection on Islam, Germans and African-Americans than the HCDAO Girls' Club is on the female gender. Most sub-groups of humanity have a distasteful extreme element (i.e. your Girls' Club) that is not representative of the whole. Political correctness forbids the condemnation of these extremists.
F*ck political correctness.

As for your assessment of the Trial Bureau CEO…….now that's some funny shit sister!

Just Sayin'

Anonymous said...

Hey Just Sayin',
The current head of the trial bureau is an outstanding trial lawyer and knows what makes an outstanding trial lawyer. He is very strong on the law as he clerked at the CCA, you know the highest court for criminal cases in Texas? What is your background exactly?

I may be many things, but I assure that I am not a member of "the girls club" that you seem so afraid of.

As for political correctness, like you I have little use for it. That is why when I say that you whine like a little girl, I mean it in the most offensive way you can possibly take it. Like the old drill sergeant said, "Dammit boy, sound off like you have a pair!"

Sorry Santa did not bring you the Barbie Jeep you so dearly wanted for Christmas. Maybe you do not know but there is no Santa.

Anonymous said...

Congrats. This comments section has reached a new low. The name game and below the belt bashing is very 2009. Move on. There is a new post discussing new policy. Murray, please consider closing this thread out, it is getting too personal and is on a downward spiral.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:19,

If you can't handle the heat get out of the kitchen. This is Murray's blog not yours. If you don't like this thread don't read it.

It seem that Just Saying and others are trying to get objective answers to some very basic questions about what the Devon Anderson administration has actually accomplished of major significance and no one seems to be able to provide that information. One has to wonder why the Hell not?
For example, the closest attempt at demonstrating good leadership was suggesting that because someone clerked for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals eons ago that makes him uniquely qualified to head the Trial bureau today. Utter nonsense. Chuck Rosenthal argued before the United States Supreme Court yet no one could possibly suggest that makes him a really qualified trial attorney. Who's kidding who?

Lykos is long gone and invoking her administrational failures as an explanation for the current low moral and lack of direction is absurd at best.

No one is fooling anyone and that's the real point here.

We'll never know if Mike Anderson might have been the guy. However, it is self evident that Devon Anderson is not up to task and has not fulfilled the ideals her late husband represented he stood for.

Let the insults fly for daring to demand proven leadership in this administration.

Just Sayin' said...

Dear Ms. Pot @ 5:52,

Mr. Kettle called and said you'd know what it was about.

Just Sayin'

Anonymous said...

We really love Devon's Rock Star ADAs!!!!!!!

NBA Players' Union

Anonymous said...

Hey diddle diddle,

The Troll and the fiddle,
The Mike jumped over the moon.
The little ADAs laughed,
To see such fun,

And the Devon ran away with the Office.

TZ

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:42:

Devon's Divas and their pretense propaganda are withering on the vine…..crickets have taken over the 6th floor spin division.

Anonymous said...

Anon: 11:50, Dude give it a rest. The DA's office from the 80's called. They do not want you back.

Episode Seven: The Voters Awaken - A One Act -Sci-Fi Play

SCENE:  The Death Star orbits over Downtown Houston. [INTERIOR] The Imperial Council Chambers. EMPRESS OGG sits at the head of a long table ...